It's Thursday

It's Thursday. Here's what's happening....

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Today is April 18th, the 108th day of 2013. There are 257 days left in the year.

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We are Boston.

White suspended five games for illegal check.

Visit the official league website, http://www.nhl.com/.

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Today's Birthdays: Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters, Honey I Shrunk the Kids) is 60; Jane Leeves (Frasier) is 52; Conan O'Brien is 50; Kourtney Kardashian is 34; Alia Shawkat (Maeby Fünke on Arrested Development) is 24.

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Montreal, PQ. -- Jon Cooper arrived last month to become the new head coach of the Lightning, and let me tell you, I think this will be a really good move for the Lightning.

Read the rest here.

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The telegraph ticker was patented by R.E. House on this date in 1846.

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Fresno, CA. -- The Wenatchee Wild must win tonight if they want to see their season continue.

Matt Salituro scored in overtime to give the Fresno Monsters a 2-1 victory over Wenatchee on Wednesday in the third game of the teams’ North American Hockey League West Division semifinal playoff series at Gateway Ice Center.

Read the rest here.

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Charles Cros wrote a paper on this date in 1877 that described the process of recording and reproducing sound. In France, Cros is regarded as the inventor of the phonograph. In the U.S., Thomas Edison gets the credit.

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U.S. National Sled Team Edges Russia, 2-1; Advances to Gold Medal Game at 2013 IPC World Championship Salamone and Chace Score for Team USA; Canada or Czech Republic Up Next GOYANG, South Korea – The U.S. National Sled Hockey defeated Russia, 2-1, today in the semifinals of the 2013 International Paralympic Committee World Championship at Goyang SPART Complex. Team USA will play Canada or the Czech Republic in the gold medal game on Saturday (April 20). "The important thing is that we won the game," said Jeff Sauer, head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. "It wasn't a pretty win. We had to work for it. We had a lot of good opportunities offensively to score goals, but we didn't put them away. Give credit to the Russians. They played very strong." Alexi Salamone (Buffalo, N.Y.) made it 1-0 at 5:17 of the first period on a rebound chance. Kevin McKee's (Davenport, Iowa) shot from the right circle was blocked, but the puck eventually deflected to Salamone and he promptly slid it inside the right post. Taylor Chace (Hampton Falls, N.H.) scored his team-best fifth goal of the tournament with 2:03 remaining in the second stanza. Chace rushed the puck up the left wing, fought off a check en route to the net and flipped a shot just over the goalie. Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) had the lone assist. At 4:06 of the third period, Russia scored the first goal of the tournament against Team USA, trimming the U.S. lead to 2-1. Vasilii Varkov notched the power-play goal from the left faceoff dot. Russia continued its push during the game's final minutes, but the Team USA defense blocked several shots andSteve Cash (Overland, Mo.) denied the rest to secure the 2-1 win. Cash made seven saves in all. Team USA's opponent will be determined later today when Canada and the Czech Republic face off in the other semifinal. The gold medal game will begin at 3:30 a.m. EDT (4:30 p.m. Korea Time). All games are being streamed live on sledworlds.usahockey.com. Scoring By Period Team 1 2 3 Total RUS 0 0 1 1 USA 1 1 0 2 First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Salamone (McKee), 5:17 (pp). Penalties: USA, Shaw (delay of game), 1:06; RUS, Lisov (interference), 3:34. Second Period – Scoring: 2, USA, Chace (Farmer), 12:57. Penalties: RUS, Team (too many men), 2:03. Third Period – Scoring: 3, RUS, Varlakov (Tuchin), 4:06 (pp). Penalties: RUS, Volkov (roughing), 0:49; USA, Chace (holding), 2:11; RUS, Volkov (dangerous equipment), 5:23. Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total RUS 4 1 3 8 USA 1 7 7 15 Goaltender (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total RUS, Ivanov, L, 45:00 1/0 7/6 7/7 15/13 USA, Cash, W, 45:00 4/4 1/1 3/2 8/7 Power Play: RUS 1-2; USA, 1-4 Penalties: RUS 4-8; USA, 2-4 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship ScheduleApril 12-20, 2013 • Goyang, South Korea • Goyang SPART Complex and Park  Date Matchup Time (Local/EDT) Live Streaming Sat., April 13 USA vs. Sweden W, 7-0 paralympic.org Sun., April 14 USA vs. Norway W, 7-0 paralympic.org Tues., April 16 USA vs. Czech Republic W, 3-0 paralympic.org Thurs., April 18 Semifinal: Russia W, 2-1 paralympic.org Sat., April 20 Gold Medal Game 4:30 p.m./3:30 a.m. paralympic.org NOTES: For video interviews with Jeff Sauer, Taylor Chace and Steve Cash, plus photos from today's game, clickhere ... Alexi Salamone was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Visit sledworlds.usahockey.com for complete coverage of Team USA at the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship, including videos, photos, features, game recaps and player information ... The official IPC tournament website is available here ... On Twitter, follow @usahockey and @usahockeyscores for additional coverage, using #Goyang2013 ... Jeff Sauer wasnamed head coach of the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team on Thursday (Feb. 14). He is in his second season as head coach of the U.S. National Sled Team ... The U.S. improves to 13-2-0 (W-L-T) this season ... Team USA has won the last three major international events, including the 2009 IPC World Sledge Hockey Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic; the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver, B.C.; and the 2012 IPC World Sledge Hockey Championship in Hamar, Norway ... Eight members of the 2012-13 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team helped the United States win the gold medal at the 2010 Paralympic Games ... The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team for the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, will be chosen this summer … Dan Brennan is the general manager for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.

************************************************ On this date in 1895, New York State passed an act that established free public baths. ************************************************ Lulay, Lions adjusting to all things new in BC. Video: Austin, Burris key in on fundamentals at mini-camp. Visit the league's official website at cfl.ca. ************************************************ Walter R. Brookins made the first airplane flight at night on this date in 1910. ************************************************ Tampa, FL. —Despite the free agency departure of two 2012 starters, Tampa Bay’s defensive front looks promising heading into the 2013 season, according to both DT Gerald McCoy and Head Coach Greg Schiano. Read the rest here. ************************************************ The moviegoing experience will get more interactive in Japan with Iron Man 3 debuting in 4DX. 4DX adds tilting seats, bubble makers on the ceiling, fog, wind, strobe lighting, and odors. ************************************************ Baltimore, MD. -- Good pitching can help end the worst of slides, particularly if the offense kicks in like it did for the Rays on Wednesday night. Making his third start of the season, Matt Moore gave the Rays his second quality start, while homers by Kelly Johnson and Shelley Duncan and two James Loney doubles led the offense in a 6-2 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards in front of 13,591 fans. Read the rest here. ************************************************ A squirrel knocked out power to three schools in Tampa, Florida, when it jumped on some wires and touched a grounded pole. The blackout came just as students were sitting down to take their state achievement tests. So instead of the exam, they partied. One relieve third-grader said, "We played Bingo board games had an ice-cream slushee." ************************************************ Milwaukee, WI. -- On Tuesday, warning-track power wasn't quite enough for the Giants. On Wednesday, it's just what the Brewers needed to take a second straight game from San Francisco. A key error followed by a game-winning hit in the ninth inning from pinch-hitter Blake Lalli lifted the Brewers to a 4-3 win at Miler Park. Brandon Crawford's errant throw on a Carlos Gomez chopper put runners at second and third with one out, and Lalli's fly ball to deep left landed on the warning track, where Gregor Blanco conceded a lengthy single. Read the rest here. ************************************************ What do women do before a first date, aside from checking their makeup and clothes? Many are checking out their suitors on Facebook. A match.com survey found that nearly half of women polled look up guys on Facebook. ... Most guys surveyed said they found the practice "completely unacceptable." ************************************************ This is a big Easter flower Daddy. ************************************************ You're reading the Johnny Blog. Almost as much fun as writing a blog, isn't it? ************************************************ Today in Elvis History 1960 - Elvis Presley left Memphis for Los Angeles to being filming "G.I. Blues." 1964 - The Elvis Presley compilation album "Elvis' Golden Records, Vol. 3" hit #6 in the U.K. 1975 - Elvis Presley bought a Convair 800 jet that had been taken out of service by Delta Airlines. He named the plane "Lisa Marie." 2002 - The Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. introduced two new lines of Elvis Presley bedroom pieces at the International Home Furnishings Market. ************************************************ On this date in 1924, Simon and Schuster, Inc. published the first "Crossword Puzzle Book." ************************************************ Today in Beatles History: 1966 - George Harrison and John Lennon went to a Lovin' Spoonful concert at the Marquee Club. 1975 - John Lennon released "Stand by Me." ************************************************ The SPCA in New Zealand says it rescued an abandoned cat that had been living for a year off of the scraps given to it by people in the drive-thru lane of the local McDonald's. [A whole year of eating nothing but McDonald's? Well, there goes one of those nine lives.] ************************************************ Today in Sports History: 1923 - Yankee Stadium opened in the Bronx, NY. The Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1. John Phillip Sousa's band played the National Anthem. (Yankee Stadium I) 1938 - U.S. President Roosevelt threw out the first ball preceding the season opener between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics. 1956 - Ed Rommel became the first umpire to wear glasses during a major league baseball game. The game was between the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators. 1962 - Bill Russell (Boston Celtics) scored 30 points and got 40 rebounds in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the fourth straight NBA title for the Celtics. 1966 - Bill Russell became the first player-coach for the Boston Celtics. 1977 - Eddie Murray hit his first career home run. 1982 - The Atlanta Braves set a National League record when they won their eleventh straight game from the start of the season. 1985 - Tulane University abolished its 72-year-old basketball program. The reason was charges of fixed games, drug abuse, and payments to players. 1987 - Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia Phillies) hit his 500th career home run. 1987 - The New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2, 68 minutes and 47 seconds into overtime. It was the sixth longest game in NHL history. 1995 - Joe Montana retired from the NFL. 1999 - Wayne Gretzky (New York Rangers) played his final game in the NHL. During the game Gretzky got his 2,857th NHL point. He retired as the NHL's all-time leading scorer and holder of 61 individual records. 2002 - Peter Forsberg (Colorado Avalanche) returned to hockey in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Kings. Forsberg had not played since May 10, 2001, when he had his spleen removed in an emergency operation. 2005 - It was announced the NFL's "Monday Night Football" would leave ABC in 2006 for a new home with ESPN. "Monday Night Football" had been on ABC since 1970. ************************************************ An overweight teen is suing the Rachel Ray show, claiming that she was humiliated. [Not about being on TV and overweight. She was humiliated to be seen with Rachel Ray.] ************************************************ Coming Up: Tonight -- MLB -- San Francisco Giants at Milwaukee Brewers 1:10pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles 7:05pm EDT NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens 7:30pm EDT NAHL Playoff Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild at Fresno Monsters 10:00pm EDT Friday -- MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Oakland Athletics 7:10pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres 10:10pm EDT Saturday -- MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Oakland Athletics 7:10pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres 9:05pm EDT Sunday -- Nascar Sprint Cup Series -- STP 400 at Kansas Speedway 1:00pm EDT MLB -- Tampa Bay Rays vs Oakland Athletics 1:40pm EDT Izod Indy Car Series -- Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 4:00pm EDT MLB -- San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres 4:05pm EDT NHL Hockey -- Tampa Bay Lightning vs Carolina Hurricanes 6:00pm EDT NAHL Playoff Hockey -- Wenatchee Wild vs Fresno Monsters 8:05pm EDT (If neeeded) ************************************************ That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow!